Power-transmitter.



G. E. MOLYNEUX.

POWER TRANSMIIIER. APPLICATION FILED JAN-301 1913.

Patented Apr. 24:, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I WITNESSES:

e. E. MOLYNEUX.

POWER TRANSMITTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30' i913.

Patented Apr. 24,1917.

SHEETS-SHEET 2- 1 INVENTOR ,y g fan/4M4 W ATTUR/VEY GEQRGE E. MOLYNEUX,F BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ACORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

POWER-TRANSMITTER.

Specification of Letters lPatent.

Patented Apr. 24, 191?.

Application filed. January 30, 1918. Serial No. 745,079.

' To all whom it may concern."

' bodied being Be it known that I, Gnonon E. MoLY- NEUX, a citizen ofthe United States, re-' siding at Bayonne, in the county of Hudson andState of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Power- Transmil '.e rs, of whic the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a power transmitter, the particular form inwhich it is ema friction clutch comprising a driving member fixed to ashaft driven by any suitable motor, and a driven member suspended by ahanger and adapted to be swung laterally into frictional engagement withthe driving member.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view, with certain partsbroken away, showing one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2, aperspective view, partly cut away, of the driven member; Fig. 3, a frontview, certain parts in central vertical section, of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, anend view looking toward the driven member with the belt surface removed;Fig. 5, a detailed perspective view showing the hanger for the drivenmember, the brake lever and other parts; and Fig. 6 a view showing theconnection to the driven shaft. Similar reference numerals indicatesimilar parts in the several views.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 designates the driving shaftwhich is con- 7 tinuously rotated by a suitable motor. In practice thisshaft may be of small diameter, the advantages of which are ease ofmaintaining alinement and less frictional load. Fixed on the shaft 1 isa driving member 2 in the form of a wheel or drum, the outer peripheralsurface of which is covered with leather or other suitable material toconstitute a friction engaging surface. The shaft 1 is supported in abearing 4 having an enlarged circumferential section 5, the peripheralsurface 6 of which is curved transversely on an arc struck from thecenter line of the shaft. The other end of the bearing 4 is reduced at 7(Fig. 1) to receive a tube or covering cap 7 to prevent the operatorcoming in contact with the shaft 1. The bearing 4 is supported in ahanger 8 clamped on a stud-shaft 9 by set-screws 10. Integral with shaft9, or made in a separate piece and fastened thereto, is a collar 11which for convenlence of manufacture may be triangular shaped. At thetop of one side of said collar is a boss 12, and at its base two screws13 which latter bear against the rail 14 through which the shaft 9ispassed. The rail 14 1s a part of the support upon which the table orbench is laid, the machine to be driven by the transmitter beingsuitably placed on such table or bench. The shaft 9 is r] qidly securedin position by a clamp-nut 15 adapted to bear against the'side of therail. To insure exact alinement of said shaft the screws 13, which alsobear against the red, may be tightened or loosened as necessary. It isessential that the stud-shaft 9 shall be parallel with the driving shaft1.

As shown in Fig. 3 the enlarged circumferential section 5 of the bearing4 is formed with a socket 16 adapted to receive a ball- .stud 17 formedon the end of the screw 18 .screw 18 is secured in position by achecknut 19. This ball-and-socket construction prevents endwise movemenof bearing 4 but permits movement of said bearing to compensate forerrors in alinement of shaft 1 by reason of the curvature of theenlarged section 5. Should the bearing 4 bind on the shaft 1 making itnecessary to throw the transmitter out of action it may be readily doneby loosening check-nut 19 and withdrawing the ball 17 into the enlargedinner portion 16 of the opening in hanger 8. This permits the bearing 4to rotate freely in the bore of hanger 8. Where there are a number .oftransmitters on'the shaft 1 this feature enables the operator to throwone transmitter out of action without affecting any other transmitter onthe line.

The driven member comprises a sleeve 20 having end flanges 21 and 22,the shaft 1 passing through the central bore of said sleeve but entirelyfree from contact therewith as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. Secured toflange 21- is a machine driving pulley 23, and secured to flange 22 is adrum 24 having a flange 25 by which it is fastened to the flange 22. Itwill thus be seen that the machine driving pulley 23 and drum 24 arerigidly secured together through sleeve 20. A suitable belt 41 is passedaround pulley 23 and is connected up with the driven shaft 42. Thedriven member above described is supported in an angular split hanger26, the

- tubular portion of which, see Fig. 5, em-

braces sleeve 20 between the end flanges21 and 22. This hanger ispivotally hung on stud-shaft 9 and held thereon from endwise movement inone direction by the screw 27 and in the other direction by a shoulder 9on said shaft.

The drum 24 is formed as shown in the drawings, that is, from thecentral flange 25 extends a cylindrical section 28 which surrounds thetubular portion of the split hanger 26. From said cylindrical sectionextends a web 29 connecting with the outer cylindrical or peripheralsection of the drum, these parts forming a recess adapted to receiveandsurround the driving member 2. By extending the greater part of thedriven drum 2% inside the plane of the end of the tubular portion ofhanger 26, danger of cramping is lessened when transmitting power. Alsothe cup shape of the drum prevents the throwing off of any oil leakingbetween flange 22 and the end of the tubular portion of hanger 2(3. Theinternal diameter of the driven drum 24 is slightly greater than theouter diameter of the driving drum 2, the amount of clearance beingsu'llicient to permit the driving member to run free when the drivenmemher is in its normalposition of rest.

Any suitable means may be provided to swing the driven member intofrictional engagement with the driving member 2. A convenient means isto effect this movement through the brake-leX er 30 pivoted at 31 on astud fixed to the side of the collar 11. At its free end lever 30 isprovided .with a suitable brake-shoe 32 normally held in engagement withthe peripheryv of drum 24 by a spring 33. Through a treadle connection34 the brake may be released. In order to utilize the brake-leyer as ameans for moving the driven member 24 into frictional engagement withthe driving member 2, I may employ any appropriate form of cam action orequivalent connection as for example a stud 35 attached to the side ofsaid lever, said stud passing through an inclined elongated slot 36 inthe web of hanger 26. \Vhen the outer end of lever 30 is depressed stud35 bears against the lower wall of slot 36 thus swinging the hanger 26forward and bringing the inner surface of the periphery of drum 24 intofrictional engagement with the driving member 2. Theoretically, at anygiven instant of time, the'inner contacting surface of drum 2% willengage the surface of the driving member at a single point. The surfaceof the driving member however being lined with leather or similarmaterial, the pressure of the driven member against such surface willeffect contact for a considerable distance about the periphery of thedriving member. In practice the clearance between the driving and drivenmembers is very slight, the movement to effect the engagement-beinghardly perceptible. The rotation of drum 2% is transmitted throughsleeve 20 and flange 21 to the belt surface of pulley 23, and throughthe connection to shaft 42. When the treadle is released, spring willreturn lever 30 to normal position, applying the brake to drum24. Thereturn movement of lever 30 will also move the drum 2% out of engagementwith the driving member 2.

When the parts are in normal position, that is with the brake appliedand the driving and driven members out of engagement with each other, itis desirable to prevent aceidental engagement of the driving and drivenmembers either by a forward or backward movement of the hanger. For thispurpose, I provide two lugs 37 and 38 on the inside face of hanger 26.Cooperating with lug 37 is a lug 39 on the side of the fixed collar 11,and cooperating with lug 38 is a projection 40 on the under side oflever 30 directly below the pivot 31 (see Fig. 1). When in normalposition, lugs 37 and 39 are in engagement with each other, and lug 39being stationary or fixed it prevents mot ement of the hanger 26backward, that is, it prevents movement in a direction opposite to that.in which the hanger is moved by depressing the treadle.

-Also the ing 38 and projection 40 are in engagement with each other andprojection 40 being fixed or stationary at such time will prevent theforward movement of hanger 26 and will hold the latter in its normalposition, thus holding drum 2 1 in its normal or central position out ofengagement with driving member 2. Should any part of the controllingmechanism, such as the treadle, pitman 34, or end of lever '30,

break or get out of order, the drum 24 would swing by gravity to itsnormal or locked position.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the ribs of hanger 26 are reduced abovethe sleeve bearing or tubular portion of the hanger to permit the beltsurface of pulley 23 to be set as near as possible the center line ofthe bearing to prevent any cramping action of the sleeve 20 on thehanger bearing 26. In otherwords there is no overhang of pulley 23, thebelt surface being in a plane within the plane of the end of the hangerbearing 26. The dish shape of pulley 23 prevents the throwing off of oilleaking between flange 21 and the end of the tubular portion of hanger26. The setting in of.pulley 23 and drum 24: permits the connection 41to be. run close to rail 14:. This is of advantage in that it makes acompact transmitter which may be so placed as to be out of interferenceby the operator.

may be used for various purposes but has been used by me moreparticularly in connection with sewing machines. In practice, the lineor main-shaft 1 extends beneath the power table upon which a number ofmachines are set up, each machine having its own transmitter, so thatany one machine may be run without interference with the operation ofany other. By reason of the peculiar construction of the bearing 4 andthe manner of supporting it in hanger S, movement of said bearing tocompensate for errors in alinement of shaft 1 is permitted. In its broadaspect my invention contemplates driving and driven members normallyconcentric with each other, with means to effect a relative movementbetween said members to move one of them to a position eccentric withand into frictional engagement with the other member, and I do nottherefore desire to limit myself to the specific form of the membersshown in the drawings, or to the specific means for bringing them intoengagement with each other. Having thus set forth the nature of theinvention, what I claim herein is 1. In a power transmitter'incombination,

driving and driven members having cooperative curved surfaces maintainedone within the other, a main driving shaft rotating about a fixed axisand passing through said driving and driven members, and means formoving the driven member transversely of the axis of said shaft to bringthe same into engagement with the driving member while maintaining theparallelism of the axes of said members.

2. In a power transmitter in combination, amain driving shaft, a drivingmember on said shaft and held against bodily movement, a driven membersurrounding and adapted to be passed through by said shaft, said membershaving complemental faces adapted to be brought into frictionalengagement with each other, said faces being normally concentric witheach other and with said shaft, and means to effect a relative movementbetween said members to move one of them to 'a position eccentric withthe other and into frictional engagement therewith.

3. In a power transmitter in combination, a main driving shaft sustainedin fixed position, a driving member fast on said shaft,

a driven' member normally concentric with and penetrated by the drivingmember, and means for moving said driven member to a position eccentricwith the driving member and into frictional engagement therewith and formaintaining the parallelism of the members during such movement.

4. In a power transmitter, in combination, a main driving shaft, adriving member fast on said shaft and provided with a peripheral flangesurrounding the same, a pivoted hanger surrounding the driving shaft, a

driven member rotatably supported in said hanger and having its hubextending between the flange of the driving member and the driving shaftand encircling the latter, and means for moving the driven memberlaterally to bring the same into engagement with the driving member.

5. In a power transmitter, in combination,

'a main driving shaft, a driving member fast on said shaft fixed againstlateral movement and provided with an annular friction face, a pivotedhanger surrounding the driving shaft, a driven member-rotatablysupported in said hanger, said driven member being normally concentricwith the driving member and formed with an annular recess to receive thefriction face of the driving member, and means for effecting a relativelateral movement between said members to bring the same into frictionalengagement with each other.

6. In a power transmitter in combination, a main driving shaft, adriving member fast on said shaft, a driven member comprising a sleevesurrounding but out of contact with said shaft, a drum secured to saidsleeve, a pivoted hanger in which said driven member is rotatablysupported, and means for moving said hanger to thereby bring said druminto frictional engagement with the driving member.

7. In a power transmitter in combination, a main driving shaft, adriving member fast on said shaft, a driven member comprising a sleevesurrounding but out of contact with said shaft, said sleeve having adrum and a belt-pulley rigidly secured thereto, a pivoted hanger inwhich said driven member is rotatably supported, and means for movingsaid hanger to thereby bring the drum into frictional engagement withthe driving member.

8. In a power transmitter in combination, a main driving shaft, adriving member fast on said shaft, a pivoted hanger, a driven memberrotatably supported in said hanger, a spring pressed brake, a levertherefor, means including said lever for normally locking said drivenmember out of engagement with the driving member, and cooperating cam.surfaces between said lever and hanger whereby when the lever is movedfrom normal position the driven'130 member will be moved into frictionalengagement with the driving member.

9. In a power transmitter, the combination with a driving-shaft andadrivingmember carried thereby, of a pivoted hanger,

a driven member rotatably supported by' said hanger, a brake-shoe, alever connected to said brake-shoe and adapted to move the same into andout of contact with the driven member, and a connection between saidlever and the hanger whereby the movement of the lever to release thebrake-shoe will effect a movement of the hanger to bring the drivenmember into engagement with the driving-member.

10. In a power transmitter, in combination, a main driving shaft, adriving member fast on said shaft and provided with an annular frictionface, a pivoted hanger having a tubular bearing, a driven membercomprising a drum rotatably supported in said bearing, said drumoverlying the tubular portion of said hanger and provided with a recessto receive the friction face of said driving member, and means forimparting a lateral movement to said driven member to carry the sameinto engagement 1gvith the friction face of said driving mem- 11. In apower transmitter in combination, a main driving shaft, a driving memberfast on said shaft, a pivoted hanger, a driven member rotatablysupported in said hanger, a lever for moving said hanger to bring thedriven member into engagement with the driving member, and stops on saidhanger adapted to cooperate with stops on a fixed part of thetransmitter and on said lever to respectively prevent an accidentalforward or backward movement of the driven member when in its normalposition.

12. In a power transmitter in combination, a main driving shaft, adriving member fast on said shaft, a pivoted hanger, a

driven member rotatably supported in said hanger, a'lever for movingsaid hanger to bring thedriven member into engagement with the drivingmember, stops on said hanger adapted to cooperate with a stop on a fixedpart of the transmitter and a stop ,on said lever to prevent anaccidental forward or backward movement of the driven member when in itsnormal position, and a brake device so connected to said lever as to beautomatically applied to the driven member when the lever is released.

13. In a power transmitter, the combina-v tion with a driving-shaft anda drivingmember fixed upon said shaft, of a driven member encirclingsaid shaft and adapted to engage the driving-member, a swinging hangerfor said driven member, an adjustable hanger for the driving-shaft, acommon supporting member for each of said hangers consisting of a shortshaft adapted to be clamped upon the frame of a power table, and meansfor moving the driven member into and out of contact with thedriving-member.

14:. In a power transmitter, in combination, a pivoted hanger providedwith a tubular bearing, a driven member comprising a drum supported bysaid bearing and provided with a belt-pulley, said drum and belt pulleyoverlying the bearing, a driving shaft, a driving member fast on saidshaft and overlying said tubular bearing, a fixed hanger for saiddriving shaft, a common supporting shaft for said hangers, and means formoving the driven member into engagement with the driving member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 7 name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE E. MOLYNEUX. Witnesses:

H. A. KORNEMANN, Jr., W. P. STEWART.

